Unemployment benefits on verge of extension

A bill to extend federal unemployment benefits through Nov. 30 cleared a key hurdle in the Senate today, paving the way for its expected passage.

Carte Goodwin, D-W.Va, who was sworn in today as the replacement for the late Sen. Robert Byrd, gave Democrats the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster of the bill. The Senate is expected to approve the bill Wednesday. It then moves to the House, which has promised to approve it, then to President Obama.

The bill would provide federal benefits retroactively to June 2, when they expired.

The California Employment Development estimates that about 400,000 people in the state have had their federal extended benefits cut short since June 2. If they are still eligible for unemployment, these people generally could begin receiving benefits, including retroactive pay, within a few weeks after the bill is signed, says EDD spokeswoman Loree Levy.

EDD has been keeping track of these people and will send most of them claim forms, which need to be returned before benefits can be restored. However, some people will be resintated automatically. These are people who stopped receiving Fed-Ed (the final round of benefits in California) prematurely but took EDD’s advice and continued sending in claim forms during the hiatus. They could get their benefits much sooner.

The bill would not extend the $25 increase in weekly unemployment benefits that was part of the federal economic stimulus bill but also expired at the end of May. “If you started a claim May 23 or later you don’t get it,” Levy says. However, if you were getting the $25 bonus when it expired, you can continue getting it through the end of this year.

The bill does not extend the federal subsidy for Cobra health insurance premiums, which expired at the end of May.

But it would change a rule that penalizes some unemployed people who get temporary or part-time work, then return to unemployment. In some cases, this interim employment can reduce a person’s weekly benefit amount. The bill would give states a number of ways to eliminate this disincentive to work, according to a source in the Senate Finance Committee.

The estimated cost of the bill is $34 billion over 10 years. Democrats want to borrow the money, Republicans want it paid for with unused stimulus dollars.